“This had been real: real in its flaws and uncertainties, real in its small triumphs, real in its compromises and understanding.”
“It's okay to have flaws, that's what makes you real.”
“But it's high school. It's not real love, or at least you can't be sure it's real love. Real love is messy and complicated and brutal. It's been tested. Zik and Michelle have never been tested by anything mroe than being separated by a couple of classes.”
“If it looks real and feels real, do you think it matters if it's real?”
“Stuckness shouldn't be avoided. It's the physic predecessor of all real understanding.”
“Everything's a lot tougher when it's for real. That's when you choke. When it's for real.”